A DNA repair process in Escherichia coli corrects U:G and T:G mismatches to C:G at sites of cytosine methylation

Escherichia coli contains a base mismatch correction system called VSP repair that is known to correct T:G mismatches to C:G when they occur in certain sequence contexts. The preferred sequence context for this process is the site for methylation by the E. coli DNA cytosine methylase (Dcm). For this reason, VSP repair is thought to counteract potential mutagenic effects of deamination of 5-methylcytosine to thymine. We have developed a genetic reversion assay that quantitates the frequency of C to T mutations at Dcm sites and the removal of such mutations by DNA repair processes. Using this assay, we have studied the repair of U: G mismatches in DNA to C: G and have found that VSP repair is capable of correcting these mismatches. Although VSP repair substantially affects the reversion frequency, it may not be as efficient at correcting U: G mismatches as the uracil DNA glycosylase-mediated repair process.     

Base pair opening kinetics and dynamics in the DNA duplexes that specifically recognized by very short patch repair protein (Vsr)

In Escherichia coli, the very short patch (VSP) repair system is a major pathway for removal of T·G mismatches in Dcm target sequences. In the VSP repair pathway, the very short patch repair (Vsr) endonuclease selectively recognizes a T·G mismatch in Dcm target sequences and hydrolyzes the 5′-phosphate group of the mismatched thymine. The hydrogen exchange NMR studies here revealed that the T5·G18 mismatch in the Dcm target sequence significantly stabilizes own base pair but destabilizes the two neighboring G4·C19 and A6·T17 base pairs compare to other T·G mismatches. These unusual patterns of base pair stability in the Dcm target sequence can explain how the Vsr endonuclease specifically recognizes the mismatched Dcm target sequence and intercalates into the DNA.     

Principal causes of hot spots for cytosine to thymine mutations at sites of cytosine methylation in growing cells. A model, its experimental support and implications.

In Escherichia coli and human cells, many sites of cytosine methylation in DNA are hot spots for C to T mutations. It is generally believed that T.G mismatches created by the hydrolytic deamination of 5-methylcytosines (5meC) are intermediates in the mutagenic pathway. A number of hypotheses have been proposed regarding the source of the mispaired thymine and how the cells deal with the mispairs. We have constructed a genetic reversion assay that utilizes a gene on a mini-F to compare the frequency of occurrence of C to T mutations in different genetic backgrounds in exponentially growing E. coli. The results identify at least two causes for the hot spot at a 5meC: (1) the higher rate of deamination of 5meC compared to C generates more T.G than uracil.G (U.G) mismatches, and (2) inefficient repair of T.G mismatches by the very short-patch (VSP) repair system compared to the repair of U. G mismatches by the uracil-DNA glycosylase (Ung). This combination of increased DNA damage when the cytosines are methylated coupled with the relative inefficiency in the post-replicative repair of T.G mismatches can be quantitatively modeled to explain the occurrence of the hot spot at 5meC. This model has implications for mutational hot and cold spots in all organisms.     

Compositional heterogeneity of the Escherichia coli genome: A role for VSP repair?

E. coli genes that contain a high frequency of the tetranucleotide CTAG are also rich in the tetramers CTTG, CCTA, CCAA, TTGG, TAGG, and CAAG (group-I tetramers). Conversely, E. coli genes lacking CTAG are rich in the tetranucleotides CCTG, CCAG, CTGG, and CAGG (group-II tetramers). These two gene samples differ also in codon usage, amino acid composition, frequency of Dcm sites, and contrast vocabularies. Group-I tetramers have in common that they are depleted by very-short-patch repair (VSP), while group-II tetramers are favored by VSP activity. The VSP system repairs G:T mismatches to G:C, thereby increasing the overall G+C content of the genome; for this reason the CTAG-rich sample has a lower G+C content than the CTAG-poor sample. This compositional heterogeneity can be tentatively explained by a low level of VSP activity on the CTAG-rich sample. A negative correlation is found between the frequency of group-I tetramers and the level of gene expression, as measured by the Codon Adaptation Index (CAI). A possible link between the rate of VSP activity and the level of gene expression is considered.Correspondence to: A. Marine     

Lack of correlation between binding of Eco RII methyltransferase to DNA duplexes containing mismatches and the promotion of C to T mutations

The cytosine methyltransferases (MTases) M. HhaIand M. HpaII bind substrates in which the target cytosine is replaced by uracil or thymine, i.e. DNA containing a U:G or a T:G mismatch. We have extended this observation to the EcoRII MTase (M. EcoRII) and determined the apparent K_d for binding. Using a genetic assay we have also tested the possibility that MTase binding to U:G mismatches may interfere with repair of the mismatches and promote C:G to T:A mutations. We have compared two mutants of M. EcoRII that are defective for catalysis by the wild-type enzyme for their ability to bind DNA containing U:G or T:G mismatches and for their ability to promote C to T mutations. We find that although all three proteins are able to bind DNAs with mismatches, only the wild-type enzyme promotes C:G to T:A mutations in vivo. Therefore, the ability of M. EcoRII to bind U:G mismatched duplexes is not sufficient for their mutagenic action in cells. Received: 14 November 1996 / Accepted: 17 February 1997     

Stationary-state mutagenesis inEscherichia coli: A model

Stationary-phase mutagenesis in nondividingE. coli cells exposed to a nonlethal stress was, a few years ago, claimed to be a likely case of a Lamarckian mechanism capable of producing exclusively useful mutations in a directed manner. After a heated debate over the last decade it now appears to involve a Darwinian mechanism that generates a transient state of hypermutagenesis, operating on a large number of sites spread over the entire genome, at least in a proportion of the resting cells. Most of the studies that clarified this position were on the reversion of a frameshift mutation present in alacI-lacZ fusion inE. coli strain FC40. Several groups have extensively examined both the sequence changes associated with these reversions and the underlying genetic requirements. On the basis of our studies on the genomic sequence analysis, we recently proposed a model to explain the specific changes associated with the reversion hotspots. Here we propose a more detailed version of this model that also takes into account the observed genetic requirements of stationary-state mutagenesis. Briefly, G:T/U mismatches produced at methylatable cytosines are preferentially repaired in nondividing cells by the very short patch mismatch repair (VSPMR) mechanism which is itself mutagenic and can produce mutations in very short stretches located in the immediate vicinity of these cytosine methylation sites. This mechanism requires a homologous or homeologous strand invasion step and an error-prone DNA synthesis step and is dependent on RecA, RecBCD and a DNA polymerase. The process is initiated near sequences recognized by Dcm and Vsr enzymes and further stimulated if these sequences are a part of CHI or CHI-like sequences, but a double-strand-break-dependent recombination mediated by the RecBCD pathways proposed by others seems to be nonessential. The strand transfer step is proposed to depend on RecA, RuvA, RuvB and RuvC and is opposed by RecG and MutS. The model also gives interesting insights into the evolution of theE. coli genome.     

A gene required for very short patch repair in Escherichia coli is adjacent to the DNA cytosine methylase gene.

Deamination of 5-methylcytosine in DNA results in T/G mismatches. If unrepaired, these mismatches can lead to C-to-T transition mutations. The very short patch (VSP) repair process in Escherichia coli counteracts the mutagenic process by repairing the mismatches in favor of the G-containing strand. Previously we have shown that a plasmid containing an 11-kilobase fragment from the E. coli chromosome can complement a chromosomal mutation defective in both cytosine methylation and VSP repair. We have now mapped the regions essential for the two phenotypes. In the process, we have constructed plasmids that complement the chromosomal mutation for methylation, but not for repair, and vice versa. The genes responsible for these phenotypes have been identified by DNA sequence analysis. The gene essential for cytosine methylation, dcm, is predicted to code for a 473-amino-acid protein and is not required for VSP repair. It is similar to other DNA cytosine methylases and shares extensive sequence similarity with its isoschizomer, EcoRII methylase. The segment of DNA essential for VSP repair contains a gene that should code for a 156-amino-acid protein. This gene, named vsr, is not essential for DNA methylation. Remarkably, the 5' end of this gene appears to overlap the 3' end of dcm. The two genes appear to be transcribed from a common promoter but are in different translational registers. This gene arrangement may assure that Vsr is produced along with Dcm and may minimize the mutagenic effects of cytosine methylation.     

DNA mismatch correction by Very Short Patch repair may have altered the abundance of oligonucleotides in the E. coli genome.

A base mismatch correction process in E. coli K-12 called Very Short Patch (VSP) repair corrects T:G mismatches to C:G when found in certain sequence contexts. Two of the substrate mismatches (5'-CTWGG/3'-GGW'CC; W = A or T) occur in the context of cytosine methylation in DNA and reduce the mutagenic effects of 5-methylcytosine deamination to thymine. However, VSP repair is also known to repair T:G mismatches that are not expected to arise from 5-methylcytosine deamination (example--CTAG/GGT-C). In these cases, if the original base pair were a T:A, VSP repair would cause a T to C transition. We have carried out Markov chain analysis of an E. coli sequence database to determine if repair at the latter class of sites has altered the abundance of the relevant tetranucleotides. The results are consistent with the prediction that VSP repair would tend to deplete the genome of the 'T' containing sequences (example--CTAG), while enriching it for the corresponding 'C' containing sequences (CCAG). Further, they provide an explanation for the known scarcity of CTAG containing restriction enzyme sites among the genomes of enteric bacteria and identify VSP repair as a force in shaping the sequence composition of bacterial genomes.     

A:T --> G:C base pair substitutions occur at a higher rate than other substitution events in Pms2 deficient mouse cells

The mismatch repair pathway involves multiple proteins that are required to correct DNA polymerase generated mismatches before they become mutations. It has been shown recently, that the predominant base-pair substitution events leading to loss of endogenous Aprt activity in Pms2 null mouse cells are A:T --> G:C mutations (Oncogene 21 (2002) 1768, Oncogene 21 (2002) 2840). To determine if this observation could be explained by an increased rate of A:T --> G:C mutations relative to other base-pair substitutions, we developed a reversion assay to examine G:C --> A:T, C:G --> A:T, and A:T --> G:C mutations within mouse Aprt in a Pms2 null mouse kidney cell line. The results demonstrated a 6-50-fold increase in the rate of the A:T --> G:C mutations relative to the other base-pair substitutions. Additional work demonstrated that growth of the Pms2 null cells in antioxidant containing medium reduced the rate of the A:T --> G:C mutations. The results are discussed with regards to the role of mismatch repair proteins in preventing base-pair substitutions, including those induced by oxidative stress.     

Very short patch repair of T:G mismatches in vivo: importance of context and accessory proteins.

In Escherichia coli, T:G mismatches in specific contexts are corrected by a very short patch (VSP) repair system. Previous studies have shown that the product of gene vsr mediates correction of T:G to C:G in the 5'CTAGG/3'GGTCC context and in some related contexts. Amber mutations that arose in CAG sequences in gene cI of bacteriophage lambda were used to determine the effect of flanking bases on the repair of T:G mispairs arising during phage recombination. The experimental findings were combined with published data on mismatch repair of mutations in lambda gene P and E. coli gene lacI. While VSP repair was most efficient in the context 5'CTAGG, there was very significant correction when either the 5'C or the 3' G was replaced by another base. Some mismatch repair of TAG to CAG occurred in all contexts tested. Reduction in VSP repair caused by the lack of MutL or MutS was fully complemented by the addition of vsr+ plasmids when the T:G mispair was in the 5'CTAGG/3'GGTCC context. VSP repair was decreased in bacteria containing mutS+ on a multicopy plasmid. It is suggested that VSP repair maintains sequences such as the repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) and Chi sequences, which have important roles in E. coli and closely related bacteria.     

Very short patch repair: reducing the cost of cytosine methylation

In Escherichia coli and related bacteria, the product of gene dcm methylates the second cytosine of 5'-CCWGG sequences (where W is A or T). Deamination of 5-methylcytosine (5meC) results in C to T mutations. The mutagenic potential of 5meC is reduced by a system called very short patch (VSP) repair, which replaces T with C. T:G and U:G mispairs in the methylatable sequence and in related sequences are recognized by the product of vsr , a gene adjacent to dcm . Vsr creates a nick just 5' of the mispaired pyrimidine to initiate the repair. Additional products known to be required for VSP repair are DNA polymerase I and DNA ligase. MutS and MutL have a stimulatory role but are not required. The ability of Vsr to recognize T:G mispairs in sequences related to CCWGG is probably responsible for over- and under-representation of certain tetranucleotides in the E. coli genome. Although VSP repair reduces spontaneous mutations at 5meCs in replicating bacteria, mutation hot-spots persist at these sites. Under conditions that more accurately mimic the natural environment of E. coli , VSP repair appears to be effective in preventing mutation at 5meC.     

Lack of correlation between binding of Eco RII methyltransferase to DNA duplexes containing mismatches and the promotion of C to T mutations

The cytosine methyltransferases (MTases) M. HhaIand M. HpaII bind substrates in which the target cytosine is replaced by uracil or thymine, i.e. DNA containing a U:G or a T:G mismatch. We have extended this observation to the EcoRII MTase (M. EcoRII) and determined the apparent K_d for binding. Using a genetic assay we have also tested the possibility that MTase binding to U:G mismatches may interfere with repair of the mismatches and promote C:G to T:A mutations. We have compared two mutants of M. EcoRII that are defective for catalysis by the wild-type enzyme for their ability to bind DNA containing U:G or T:G mismatches and for their ability to promote C to T mutations. We find that although all three proteins are able to bind DNAs with mismatches, only the wild-type enzyme promotes C:G to T:A mutations in vivo. Therefore, the ability of M. EcoRII to bind U:G mismatched duplexes is not sufficient for their mutagenic action in cells.     

Spontaneous Mutation at a 5-Methylcytosine Hotspot Is Prevented by Very Short Patch (Vsp) Mismatch Repair

In many strains of Escherichia coli, the product of gene dcm methylates the internal cytosines in the sequence 5'CC(A or T)GG. Spontaneous deamination of 5-methylcytosine produces thymine which, if not corrected, can result in a transition mutation. 5-Methylcytosines in the lacI gene are hotspots for spontaneous C to T mutations. dcm is linked to vsr, a gene required for very short patch (VSP) repair. VSP repair corrects T.G mispairs in the following contexts:CTAAGGGGTCC, CTTGGGGACC, TAGGGTCC and CTAGGGTC. I have investigated the relationships between cytosine methylation, mutation, and VSP repair. Spontaneous mutations in the repressor (cI) gene of lambda prophage were isolated in wild-type and mutant lysogens. A hotspot for spontaneous mutation that corresponds with a 5-methylcytosine was observed in wild-type lysogens but was not present in bacteria lacking both methylase and VSP repair activity. Introduction of a plasmid containing dcm+ and vsr+ restored the mutation hotspot. If the added plasmid carried only dcm+, the frequency of spontaneous mutations at the 5-methylcytosine was over 10-fold higher than in Dcm+Vsr+ lysogens. The addition of vsr on a plasmid to a wild-type lysogen resulted in a 4-fold reduction in mutation at the hotspot. These findings support the previously untested hypothesis that VSP repair prevents mutations resulting from deamination of 5-methylcytosine.     

Genetic requirements for hyper-recombination by very short patch mismatch repair: involvement of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I

Summary It has been established that very short patch (VSP) mismatch repair, depending inEscherichia coli on MutL, MutS and Dcm functions, is responsible for the hyper-recombinogenic effect of a class of genetic markers. We show that VSP repair requires the presence of the complete DNA polymerase I enzyme. The absence of endonuclease activities involved in the repair of base-loss sites, Nth, Nfo and Xth, does not affect VSP repair. Implications for the mechanism of the VSP repair are discussed.     

Methylated cytosine at Dcm (CC T A GG) sites in Escherichia coli: Possible function and evolutionary implications

The frequency and distribution of methylated cytosine (5-MeC) at CC _T ^A GG (Dcm sites) in 49 E. coli DNA loci (207,530 bp) were determined. Principal observations of this analysis were: (1) Dcm frequency was higher than expected from random occurrence but lower than calculated with Markov chain analysis; (2) CCTGG sites were found more frequently in coding than in noncoding regions, while the opposite was true for CCAGG sites; (3) Dcm site distribution does not exhibit any identifiably regular pattern on the chromosome; (4) Dcm sites at oriC are probably not important for accurate initiation of DNA replication; (5) 5-MeC in codons was more frequently found in first than in second and third positions; (6) there are probably few genes in which the mutation rate is determined mainly by DNA methylation. It is proposed that the function of Dcm methylase is to protect chromosomal DNA from restriction-enzyme EcoRII. The Dcm methylation contribution to determine frequency of oligonucleotides, mutation rate, and recombination level, and thus evolution of the E. coli genome, could be interpreted as a consequence of the acquisition of this methylation.Correspondence to: M.C. Gómez-Eichelmann     

Preferential CEBP binding to T:G mismatches and increased C-to-T human somatic mutations

DNA cytosine methylation in mammals modulates gene expression and chromatin accessibility. It also impacts mutation rates, via spontaneous oxidative deamination of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to thymine. In most cases the resulting T:G mismatches are repaired, following T excision by one of the thymine DNA glycosylases, TDG or MBD4. We found that C-to-T mutations are enriched in the binding sites of CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (CEBP). Within a CEBP site, the presence of a T:G mismatch increased CEBPβ binding affinity by a factor of >60 relative to the normal C:G base pair. This enhanced binding to a mismatch inhibits its repair by both TDG and MBD4 in vitro. Furthermore, repair of the deamination product of unmethylated cytosine, which yields a U:G DNA mismatch that is normally repaired via uracil DNA glycosylase, is also inhibited by CEBPβ binding. Passage of a replication fork over either a T:G or U:G mismatch, before repair can occur, results in a C-to-T mutation in one of the daughter duplexes. Our study thus provides a plausible mechanism for accumulation of C-to-T human somatic mutations.     

The role of the Escherichia coli mug protein in the removal of uracil and 3,N(4)-ethenocytosine from DNA.

The human thymine-DNA glycosylase has a sequence homolog in Escherichia coli that is described to excise uracils from U.G mismatches (Gallinari, P., and Jiricny, J. (1996) Nature 383, 735-738) and is named mismatched uracil glycosylase (Mug). It has also been described to remove 3,N(4)-ethenocytosine (epsilonC) from epsilonC.G mismatches (Saparbaev, M., and Laval, J. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 95, 8508-8513). We used a mug mutant to clarify the role of this protein in DNA repair and mutation avoidance. We find that inactivation of mug has no effect on C to T or 5-methylcytosine to T mutations in E. coli and that this contrasts with the effect of ung defect on C to T mutations and of vsr defect on 5-methylcytosine to T mutations. Even under conditions where it is overproduced in cells, Mug has little effect on the frequency of C to T mutations. Because uracil-DNA glycosylase (Ung) and Vsr are known to repair U.G and T.G mismatches, respectively, we conclude that Mug does not repair U.G or T.G mismatches in vivo. A defect in mug also has little effect on forward mutations, suggesting that Mug does not play a role in avoiding mutations due to endogenous damage to DNA in growing E. coli. Cell-free extracts from mug(+) ung cells show very little ability to remove uracil from DNA, but can excise epsilonC. The latter activity is missing in extracts from mug cells, suggesting that Mug may be the only enzyme in E. coli that can remove this mutagenic adduct. Thus, the principal role of Mug in E. coli may be to help repair damage to DNA caused by exogenous chemical agents such as chloroacetaldehyde.     

HpaII methyltransferase is mutagenic in Escherichia coli.

A genetic reversion assay to study C-to-T mutations within CG sites in DNA is described. It was used to demonstrate that the presence of HpaII methyltransferase (MTase) in Escherichia coli causes a substantial increase in C-to-T mutations at CG sites. This is similar to the known mutagenic effects of E. coli MTase Dcm within its own recognition sequence. With this genetic system, a homolog of an E. coli DNA repair gene in Haemophilus parainfluenzae was tested for antimutagenic activity. Unexpectedly, the homolog was found to have little effect on the reversion frequency. The system was also used to show that HpaII and SssI MTases can convert cytosine to uracil in vitro. These studies define 5-methylcytosine as an intrinsic mutagen and further elaborate the mutagenic potential of cytosine MTases.     

Hypermutation at A/T sites during G.U mismatch repair in vitro by human B-cell lysates

Somatic hypermutation in the variable regions of immunoglobulin genes is required to produce high affinity antibody molecules. Somatic hypermutation results by processing G.U mismatches generated when activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) deaminates C to U. Mutations at C/G sites are targeted mainly at deamination sites, whereas mutations at A/T sites entail error-prone DNA gap repair. We used B-cell lysates to analyze salient features of somatic hypermutation with in vitro mutational assays. Tonsil and hypermutating Ramos B-cells convert C-->U in accord with AID motif specificities, whereas HeLa cells do not. Using tonsil cell lysates to repair a G.U mismatch, A/T and G/C targeted mutations occur about equally, whereas Ramos cell lysates make fewer mutations at A/T sites (approximately 24%) compared with G/C sites (approximately 76%). In contrast, mutations in HeLa cell lysates occur almost exclusively at G/C sites (> 95%). By recapitulating two basic features of B-cell-specific somatic hypermutation, G/C mutations targeted to AID hot spot motifs and elevated A/T mutations dependent on error-prone processing of G.U mispairs, these cell free assays provide a practical method to reconstitute error-prone mismatch repair using purified B-cell proteins.     

Very Short Patch Mismatch Repair in Phage Lambda: Repair Sites and Length of Repair Tracts

Five amber mutations in the repressor (cI) gene of bacteriophage lambda recombine anomalously with nearby cI mutations. When any of these markers is used in four-factor crosses, cI+ recombinants that are expected to require three cross-overs occur at high frequencies. These recombinants are attributable to very-short-patch (VSP) repair of specific mismatches in DNA heteroduplexes formed during recombination between the markers flanking cI. The sites of the repair-prone mutations and the lengths of repair tracts have now been determined. Amber mutations subject to VSP repair are C to T transitions in 5'CCATGG, the sequence methylated by the product of gene dcm, and also in the related 5'CAGG or 5'CCAG sequences. Ambers arising in CAG sequences found in other contexts, or in codons other than CAG, were not subject to VSP repair. Repair tracts rarely, if ever, exceed ten nucleotides in length, and can be as short as two nucleotides. A repair-prone mutation does not stimulate recombination between flanking cI markers.